Science Forums 2

[gost]

Michael- Translation of the abstract on Biodiversity in Amazonian Dark Earths Soils that you posted above:

ADE soils have a much greater biodiversity and greater biomass of both bacteria and fungi, as well as actinomycetes, than other local soils. In other words, this stuff is loaded with organic decomposers. The presence of these critters makes lots of good organic chemicals. They list the various genera. Then the authors suggest that the purposeful combination of ingredients in ADE, along with the microbial community it sustains, creates a very fertile and stable mix.

The question I still have is whether this whole arrangement will work outside of the tropics. I'm assuming it will since ultimately it still seems like a specialized sort of composting. Not too extremely different from what I'm doing now, except for the charcoal and pottery fragments. What I'm hoping is that even though the specific microbial community may vary from place to place, along with the species of available plant material, the result will be the same.

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My recipe for Terra Preta so far:

1) Low-temp charcoal from local hardwoods and fruit tree prunings, ground to a fine powder.

2) Organic compost mix made mostly from leafy weeds, along with added comfrey, nettles, dock, and clover.

3) Shredded dried leaves and ground up branches.

4) Lawn trimmings.

5) Broken terra cota pottery.

6) Old compost and garden soil to provide microorganisms.

I'm using standard proportions for organic composting, but turning some of the browns into charcoal. The starting volume for the mix is a 42 inch covered cube. The pile is mixed daily and enough water added to maintain moisture.

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Very interesting info about the P limitation in Australian soils. Sounds like the Terra Preta concepts might be very well suited to your location. It's possible that the pottery fragments play an important role in the long term regulation of P, so you probably need to be sure and include that in your mix.